A Reminder
by ylvaa
Summary: Something is wrong with Ginny's life and a certain mysterious painting decides to change that. Perhaps a change in scenery will be just the thing?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes:** I started writing this fic before HBP was released, so it will be AU. It is a time-travelling fic, but please don't leave because of that! This is my first ever novel-length fanfic (that I've written by myself), and I really hope you'll like it. I'm kind of fond of it myself. This is a Work in Progress and as for the time being I have absolutely no idea of where it's going. 

Reviews are always well recieved.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter or anything Harry Potter-ish.

* * *

"Do you know the exact time it will happen, Albus?"

Remus sounded worried and his voice was anxious.

"I'm sorry, I don't. We will have to wait and see I'm afraid. But it can't be long."

Dumbledore sat down behind his desk and looked at Remus over the rim of his half-moon spectacles. Remus twisted nervously in his chair.

"Do you believe we should tell her parents?"

Dumbledore frowned and pursed his lips. "No," he said at last, "I think it would probably be best to tell them _after _she's left."

Remus nodded. His hand was closed around something, a piece of white fabric.

"Remus, I must ask you; have you ever said anything to her about what will happen? Or even insinuated something?"

Remus looked into the eyes of the older man. "No, never," he answered him truthfully. "I've always tried to treat her as I would anybody else."

"And what about Sirius?"

Remus felt a stab in the heart by the sound of Sirius' name. Even though it had been over a year since he died, it still pained him to think about.

"Sirius never said anything."

oOo

The library was almost empty, except for a few third and fourth years, and Ginny. Madam Pince was sitting on her usual spot behind her desk, staring out over the room like a predator searching for its prey. She was not to mess with; everybody at Hogwarts knew that very clearly. Most of the students had on at least one occasion been thrown out of the library for talking a tad too loud.

Ginny was skimming through a large, green book. She didn't actually care what was in it; she just sat in there to get away from the common room. It was time for dinner soon, so Ginny decided to begin her walk to the Great Hall. She was extremely hungry, having missed lunch because she lost track of time. She packed away her things quickly but quietly, put the book back on its shelf, and left the library.

She turned a corner and was just about to descend the stairs when she heard a voice behind her call out.

"Miss! Miss!"

She turned around to see where the voice was coming from. It was one of the paintings.

_That's odd, how come I've never seen that painting before? _

It was a particularly small painting with a picture of a man in it. The man was very old and wrinkled, but looked very familiar in some strange way.

Ginny frowned and looked at the man in the picture, tilting her head slightly to one side.

"Did you want something?" she asked, very politely.

The old man's face screwed up into a grimace and he smiled at Ginny with a mysterious glint in his eyes. He began to giggle, and Ginny felt odd standing there. She made to walk away, but then the man stopped her.

"Wait! Don't go. I have something very important to tell you. Come closer," he told her.

Slowly Ginny walked closer to the picture, still pretty suspicious. She stopped when she was only a few inches away from it, and looked at the man expectantly; waiting for him to say what was on his mind.

But he didn't say a word; he just kept on smiling and giggling softly under his breath.

Then, "A bit closer. Come on, I won't bite you. After all, I can't!"

He started laughing loudly, but Ginny did as he said and moved even closer. And before she knew it she felt a pull, as though someone was pulling on her clothes. She felt her feet lift from the ground, and everything around her went black. All she could hear was the man's laughing, which even that seemed to fade.

Soon she hit ground again, and as her surroundings came to view she was standing right in front of the very same wall, except the small painting was gone.

She looked around her bewildered, but everything looked normal and the way it should. She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts of the painting. Maybe she had just imagined it?

She started to walk down the stairs and towards the Great Hall. She reached to open the doors, but stopped when a funny feeling hit her. The Entrance Hall was completely empty of people. Usually the Hall would be filled with noises of students going to eat, but now it was dead quiet.

She pushed open the doors, and was hit by – silence.

_I can't have missed dinner… can I?_

She checked her wrist watch, and according to it dinner should have started only thirty minutes ago. But, then, why was the Great Hall empty?

Ginny tried to find a reasonable explanation to it all, and decided that she must have dozed off in the library and that her watch had broken.

_Yeah, that must be it. I'll just go back to the common room and go to bed. _

"Evans," someone behind her called when she had closed the doors again. "I thought you were to patrol the fifth flo-"

The speaker stopped suddenly when Ginny turned around to meet her.

"Professor McGonagall?" asked Ginny.

For it was Professor McGonagall who spoke. But, she looked different. Her hair was different, blacker. She looked – younger?

"You are not Evans," said McGonagall in her usual strict voice. "Who are you?"

_What?_

Ginny stared at Professor McGonagall with her eyes wide and a look of terror in them. She opened her mouth to speak, but not a word escaped her lips.

McGonagall was getting frustrated.

"Come on," she said angrily. "We'll go talk to the Headmaster. Maybe he'll know what to do."

And she turned quickly on her heel and started walking very fast in the other direction. Bewildered by the whole thing and not knowing what to do, Ginny simply followed her professor.

Without actually being aware of her surroundings, Ginny suddenly found herself in the office of Professor Dumbledore. She knew the room well, she had spent numerous amounts of time in it the last couple of years, most of the time receiving different forms of terrible news, such as the death of people she loved.

She shuddered at the memories the room brought back to her, but was interrupted by a small cough. Her head snapped up and she met Professor Dumbledore's gentle gaze. He tilted his head slightly and smiled warmly at her. Ginny noticed that he was wearing a pair of very bright and purple sleeping robes.

"And what do we have here?" he asked McGonagall. "Who is this girl, Minerva?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that, Albus. I found her wandering around in the Entrance Hall."

"Ah, and how did you get there, Miss?" Dumbledore had turned to Ginny now, and he was looking at her expectantly.

"I-I – er, I don't know, Professor. I was on my way to dinner, you see, and – and when I got to the Great Hall, everything was dark." Ginny started twisting her hands nervously. "I was only half an hour late!" she almost yelled in desperation.

"I see." Dumbledore frowned. "What is your name?"

"What?" Tears started welling up in Ginny's eyes. What was Dumbledore talking about? She was Ginny! And she had always been Ginny! "What are you talking about, Professor? It's me, Ginny Weasley… Why don't you recognise me?"

"Weasley, you say? I only know one Weasley, and he left Hogwarts years ago. His name was Arthur."

"That's my dad!"

At those words it looked as though Dumbledore finally figured things out. His eyes grew and his mouth formed into the shape of an O.

"Oh my," he finally said after a long waiting. "And you are how old, Ginny?"

"Si-sixteen," Ginny stumbled.

"Ah. Well. Er." Dumbledore paused. "Then I think I have somewhat shocking news for you. It seems as though you might have travelled back in time."

Ginny's eyes became, if possible, even wider and she actually fell to the floor. McGonagall gasped, but Ginny didn't bother standing up again. Instead she stayed seated at the floor and stared up at Dumbledore.

"What, what…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a few moments she opened them again and finished her sentence. "What year is this, sir?"

"1977," answered Dumbledore, smiling gently.

Ginny choked on her breath. "1977? Oh no."

"Ginny, I want you to tell me exactly what happened and how you got here. Can you do that?"

"But I… I'm not really sure. I was in the library and then I left to go down to dinner. But there was this painting – I'd never seen it before – and the man in it said he had something important to tell me. And then I felt a pull and everything went black. But when it got light again the painting was gone."

"I see. And what did the painting look like?"

Ginny frowned as she tried to remember. "It was very small, and the man in it was very old."

"Did he tell you anything else?"

"No, he just laughed at me," Ginny said and wrinkled her nose. "He wasn't very nice."

"He's like that, I'm afraid," said Dumbledore and chuckled.

"What?"

"Take a seat in that chair and I'll explain it all to you."

Ginny got up from the floor and sat down in the chair Dumbledore had pointed to. As she did so Dumbledore himself took a seat on the other side of his big desk. McGonagall still stood quiet behind Ginny.

"The painting you described has a certain ability," Dumbledore began. "When it feels that something isn't the way it should be it changes it. In other words, he sends people to another point of time, in your case the past. Why and to what time he does it, depends on who the person is. But I promise you, he has his reasons."

"So in my case that means…?"

"I have no idea whatsoever, I'm sorry. He never tells. All we know is that you got sent here for a reason."

Ginny couldn't feel any worse than she did right now.

"And when will I get back to my own time?"

"I don't know that either."

She was wrong, she _could _feel worse.

"So, what you are saying is that I'm stuck here until that bloody painting sends me back?" she yelled angrily.

"Yes. But until then you shouldn't stop with your studies. I will make the arrangements so you can keep up with the schoolwork the time you will spend here with us. Now, what year are you in?"

"Sixth, but-"

"Good. And house?"

"Gryffindor, but I really-"

"Perfect," said Dumbledore joyfully. "Since tomorrow is a Sunday I would like it if you came back here then, and we could talk about the classes you're taking. But now I would strongly suggest you go to bed, it's very late. Professor McGonagall will show you to where your dormitory will be, and I will see you tomorrow at ten, if that is an all right time with you?"

"Sure," answered Ginny weakly. "I-I'll see you tomorrow, sir."

She stood up and was led out of the room by Professor McGonagall. She was too deep in her thoughts to even notice that they were already at the Fat Lady. Professor McGonagall said the password and they entered the Gryffindor common room. It looked exactly as it did in Ginny's time and she felt right at home. She was led to the sixth year dormitory and when she looked in through the door she noticed that there was a bed for her already.

Just before McGonagall meant to leave, Ginny turned around.

"Professor? That name you called me before, Evans, were you talking about Lily Evans?" she asked.

McGonagall looked at her strangely. "Yes, do you know her?"

"Sort of."

_I know her son…_

After that, McGonagall said her good night, and left Ginny alone.

_If Harry's mother goes here, that means his dad does too. And Sirius and Professor Lupin. And Scabbers…_

Ginny was absolutely exhausted and it didn't take her long to fall asleep, but before she did she observed three more beds in the dormitory. Which meant she would have three very curious girls in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!

Many thanks to everyone who reviewed my first chapter! Hope you'll enjoy this one too.

* * *

And three very curious girls she got. 

Ginny awoke at about eight the following morning, fully rested. She got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. When she came back into the dormitory later she found all three girls woken up and waiting excitedly for her.

The first girl was called Miranda Cunningham and had short, very blond hair. Her skin had a nice tan and when she smiled she did it with her whole face.

"I'm Sophie Fairburn and this is Natalie. We're twins if you can't see that," Sophie said and winked.

She and Natalie looked just like each other; only by the different hair cuts could Ginny tell them apart. Sophie wore her hair long, and Natalie's was cut off by her shoulders. They were the same height as Ginny, and their hair was jet black. In contrast to Miranda, who was very pretty, Sophie and Natalie had a more ordinary look. There was nothing distinct with them.

"So, what's your name?" asked Miranda.

"Ginny Wea- I mean, er, Waters," said Ginny, hoping none of them would have noticed her slip-up.

"So, you're new here?" Natalie continued without seeing the look in Ginny's face.

"Er, yeah. I came last night."

"Why did you come in the middle of the term? And in the middle of sixth year, too." This time it was Miranda who spoke.

"Well, er…" Ginny didn't know exactly what to say.

Dumbledore hadn't given her any information about what they were to tell the other students. She couldn't precisely tell them that she was from the future.

"Er, just circumstances. I-I really don't want to talk about it, if that's okay?"

Ginny could see the disappointment in the other girls' eyes, but they didn't push her. She excused herself by saying she was going to get some breakfast, and quickly left before the girls would come up with the idea of joining her.

She almost ran down the stairs to the Great Hall, and when she opened the big doors and met the sweet smell of food, she finally understood how extremely hungry she was. She hadn't eaten in a very long time and her stomach was rumbling.

The Hall was pretty empty. Since it was Sunday most of the students had decided to sleep in. And that suited Ginny just fine. She sat down at the almost empty Gryffindor table (only a small boy, probably a first or second year, already sat there).

Her mouth watered when she saw the food on the table, and she filled her plate with one thing of everything. When she took the first bite of her toast, her stomach gave a loud and grateful growl.

As Ginny continued to stuff herself with food, the Gryffindor and other house tables filled more and more with people. Soon her fellow sixth year girls had entered the Great Hall and to Ginny's discontent they sat down right next to her. Ginny didn't really feel like talking to any one of them, but found it very hard to ignore them when they kept asking her questions about where she had gone to school before; why she had come to Hogwarts, etcetera etcetera.

She tried to steer the conversation over to different things, but that was easier said than done. Those girls just couldn't get enough! It was just too much for Ginny to handle, and finally she snapped.

"Please!" she interrupted the girls' cascade of questions. "I-I don't want to talk about it," she said, and by the pure frustration tears had been building in her eyes.

The other girls saw this, and thinking that something bad might have happened to Ginny, which obviously made her cry when someone mentioned it, quieted them down. They looked hesitantly at her when she dried the tears away with the back of her hand, and Miranda silently apologised for their rudeness. Ginny shook her head and said that it was all right, but the rest of the time they all ate in silence.

All during breakfast Ginny could feel the stares of the other students in the Hall. It wasn't everyday Hogwarts got a new student, and everybody wanted to take a good look at her. She even heard people talking about her, not bothering to keep their voices down. The Gryffindors were the most curious, since she was sitting at their table, and thus evidently was a Gryffindor.

Ginny tried to ignore the stares and keep her mind on her food. But as the time was drawing nearer to ten and her appointment with Dumbledore, she stood up and the whole Great Hall fell into silence. Ginny said a quick 'bye' to the girls, and looking at her feet instead of the people in the Hall; she quickly made her way towards the big doors that led out to the Entrance Hall. All the way there she felt the eyes on her back and heard the whispering voices.

When she reached the doors she was almost running, trying to get away from the students as fast as she could. She hurried through the corridors to Dumbledore's office and was there fifteen minutes before ten. She figured Dumbledore wouldn't mind that she was early so she said the password, went up the staircase and knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office.

"Come in," she heard his muffled voice say, and she pushed open the door and entered. "Miss Weasley, you're early." He smiled at her, and with his hand indicated that she should take a seat in the chair opposite the desk.

"I hope you don't mind," said Ginny timidly as she sat down.

"It's quite all right. We should probably get started."

"Sure."

"After you left last night it came to my mind that your last name would have to be changed, so no confusion will be made and questions will be asked which you can't answer," Dumbledore began.

"I already thought of that, Professor. This morning."

"Very good. And what name did you choose?"

"Waters, it was the first name that came to my mind."

"Very well, I will call you Miss Waters from now on then. We should also take a look at what kind of classes you will be taking this year. You have done your O.W.L.s, am I right?"

"Yes, I have."

"Good. So that brings us to the matter of classes on N.E.W.T. level you will be taking."

Ginny continued to tell Dumbledore which classes she was taking, and after that they decided upon the other things she could tell the other students about herself. In other words, they put together a big lie so no one would be able to guess who she really was.

They talked a bit more about the painting, and Dumbledore told her that at the present time the painting was gone, but when it returned it would be time for her to go back home. She asked the Headmaster how long he thought it would take, but he still had no answer.

After about an hour Ginny left the Headmaster's office, a list in her hand which she was to take to Madam Pince at the library so she could give Ginny the set of books she needed for the year. She had also been promised by Professor Dumbledore that she would get a pair of school robes and other clothes of necessity.

She didn't meet anyone on her way to the library, and for that she was grateful. When she rounded the corner where the painting of the old man had been, she searched for it even though she already knew it wouldn't be there. But she still felt her heart plummet in her chest. She though of everybody back home, did they even know she was gone?

_Of course they know_, she thought, _Dumbledore must definitely have told them. _

She pulled open the door to the library and was met by the usual smell of old books. Madam Pince was sitting by her desk, writing something in a big, black book, and when Ginny approached she looked up.

Ginny handed her the note from Dumbledore and Madam Pince skimmed it through. She then stood up, told Ginny to wait there, and walked away. While Madam Pince was gone Ginny looked around. There weren't many people in the library, probably because it was a Sunday, Ginny thought. Who want to sit in a stuffy library when you can be outside and breathe the warm autumn air?

Ginny's eyes rested on a boy and a girl sitting with their backs to her. The girl had dark, red hair tied back in a ponytail, and the boy had a big mess of black hair. The way he moved his body looked familiar. He was rocking back and forth in his chair, as though very bored. After a while he leaned over to the girl and gave her a kiss on the cheek and said something. Ginny could just about make out what he said.

"Come on, Lily, let's go outside. I'm bored."

The girl called Lily sighed deeply and said, "Sure, but then we just have to finish this later," while at the same time closing the book she had been reading from.

The boy literally jumped out of his chair, took Lily's hand and began to drag her out of the library. As they were moving closer to Ginny, she almost fell to the ground. Although she knew this would happen sooner or later, she just hadn't been expecting it right now.

The boy looked exactly like Harry, it was almost scary. And then it hit her who the girl was; Harry's mother. Ginny's eyes grew wider and wider the closer the couple got, and without glancing at Ginny they left the library; James talking excitedly and Lily smiling back at him.

But before Ginny had had time to process the information Madam Pince returned with a big pile of books. She had Ginny sign a note saying she had received the books and then she, too, left the library.

She slowly made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, in the meantime thinking about who else she would have to see during her time in the past. Well, she figured, she had already seen Lily and James. That left Sirius, Professor Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. And wasn't Snape the same age as them?

Not until she had settled down in her bed in the dormitory (she had deliberately avoided all the stares from her fellow housemates as she had made her way through the common room) did she look at the books she had gotten from Madam Pince. Most of them were exactly the same as her old ones, but some of them were new to her. That was probably because she had different professors now than she had had before.

And that got her thinking – what professors did she have now? Were some of the ones she knew already teaching? Well, she knew McGonagall were, and presumably Professors Flitwick and Binns.

After skimming through the books for a while, she figured she couldn't just sit in her bed all day, and she decided she would take a walk. After all, the weather was wonderful for being October. So she grabbed a warmer cloak and left the castle.

She wasn't the only one who were enjoying the fresh autumn air, students were spread all over the grass by the lake, chattering with their friends and some doing schoolwork. Ginny found a place near the lake, some way away from the rest of the student population, and she sat down. She gazed out over the still waters of the lake; the Giant Squid could be seen playing in the far end of it.

When seeing the other students, Ginny started to feel rather bad about how she had treated Miranda, Natalie and Sophie. She hadn't been in the mood to talk and had maybe been a bit too dismissive. All they wanted was to get to know her and she had been frustrated and curt. She could practically hear her mother's voice telling her how very un-lady-like she behaved. Ginny sighed deeply. She didn't _want _any friends here; she didn't _need _any friends here. She already had friends back home. She missed them terribly, and knowing it could be a very long time before she saw them again made her miss them even more. And that, in turn, made her cry.

She tried to fight back the tears, but she had let her guard fall for one second and there was no stopping them now. People around her started staring and pointing at her, and she tried with all her might to stop her silly crying. This was _not _a good first day, that was for sure.

_Get yourself together, _she demanded herself, _they'll all think you're bonkers. _

Ginny took a deep breath, but that didn't work. So she simply got to her feet and went back to Gryffindor Tower. She stayed in her dormitory until dinner, reading in her schoolbooks and just killing time. Some time during the afternoon Miranda came by, but she left again after just a few minutes when Ginny refused to talk about her past. Miranda looked a bit disappointed, so to ease her curiosity Ginny told her she might tell her some things about it later on, but for now she just needed to get into the whole Hogwarts-thing. That seemed to satisfy Miranda.

Dinner later was basically eventless, though she did catch sight of James along with Sirius, Professor Lupin, Lily and Peter. It was strange to see them like that, so young and clueless about what would happen to them in the future. Ginny was sitting quite a bit away from the four friends and Lily, thus making it easy for her to observe them without them noticing.

When seeing how Peter laughed together with his friends, it was hard to believe that in only a few years time he would betray Lily and James and be the cause of their death. They all seemed so happy now. Ginny was actually stunned by Sirius; he was very handsome and so unlike his future self. Even though she knew that he had been very good-looking before Azkaban, she had never really understood exactly how much until now. There were several girls looking at him dreamily, and it was quite obvious he was aware of them. Professor Lupin, too, looked a lot better than he did in the future; there were no grey streaks in his hair for one thing. And he looked a lot happier too than the Lupin she knew did.

After dinner Ginny went straight to bed, making sure Miranda didn't get a chance to start her questioning again.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Sorry for the long waiting.

Since I started to write this fic before HBP was released, Slughorn wasn't in my first version. But as we learn in HBP Slughorn was the Potions professor during these years, so I figured I'd just make a few small changes and add Slughorn. Which is kind of sad, because I liked the Potions professor I made up... Oh well.

And I have a title! I was working on one of the coming chapters with Radiohead playing in the back ground, and when the song A Reminder started playing it just dawned on my that that song was perfect. So there it is.

* * *

The next morning she failed in her attempt to avoid Miranda. When Ginny awoke she found Miranda already dressed and waiting for her. Ginny tried to take as long as she could getting ready, maybe that would make Miranda tire and go without her. But no, Miranda was as patient as one could get, and when Ginny was done she hopped up from her bed and began talking feverishly. 

After what seemed to be an eternity to Ginny they reached the Great Hall and sat down by the Gryffindor table. Miranda was still talking like crazy and Ginny politely nodded on the right places, but didn't talk very much. The Gryffindor table was filled with people and Miranda and Ginny had sat down in the only available seats, right next to a gang of boys. Apparently Miranda knew them quite well because they all said 'hello' and 'good morning' to her. They didn't say anything to Ginny, but stared at her instead.

"So, this is the new girl?" one of them said, a dark-haired boy with glasses and a lot of freckles.

"Yes, this is Ginny," said Miranda. "Ginny, this is David Gaffney. And those three there are Dennis Rooney, Christopher Clarke and Douglas Walmsley. They're all sixth years like us."

Dennis was very tall; that was obvious even though he was sitting down at the moment. He looked like someone who had grown a lot in a short period of time. In that perspective he reminded Ginny somewhat of Ron, though that was the only thing they had in common. Dennis had black hair and he had an angry look about his face, it had something to do with the shape of his eyebrows.

Christopher looked nice all the way through; he had a friendly face and a nice smile. A loveable person so to speak. He and Douglas looked a little like each other, both had light brown hair and the same slightly bent nose.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," David continued.

"Thanks," said Ginny.

"Where did you go before?"

"Oh, don't bother," Miranda cut in before Ginny could answer. "She won't tell you anyway."

"I was home-tutored," said Ginny defiantly. She didn't like Miranda's tone of voice.

Miranda was obviously annoyed by Ginny's sudden urge to tell the boys about herself, but hadn't been willing to answer _her _questions before, and she snorted. "And why were you home-tutored? Did your parents think you were _too good _for a normal school?" she asked mockingly.

"Oh, come off it, Miranda," said Christopher, which made Miranda glare at him, but he ignored her. "It's nice to meet you, Ginny. You will love Hogwarts."

He smiled genially at Ginny. Though she couldn't help but think that she would probably hate it, she smiled back at him. She only wished she could go back home.

The first class she had that morning was Charms with Professor Flitwick.

_Good, _thought Ginny, _at least it's with someone I know. Even though he doesn't know me… yet._

When she entered the well-known classroom she noticed that they had Charms with one of the other houses, so she took another look at her schedule and found out it was Ravenclaw. Ginny sat down in the back of the room, and to her disdain Miranda sat down beside her. The Gryffindor boys all sat down two rows in front of them. Before Christopher sat down he turned his head and flashed Ginny another smile. Ginny felt her stomach turn – not by the smile itself, but she didn't want Christopher to get any ideas about her.

It wasn't that Ginny thought of herself as every boy's dream girl, it was just that she knew how the mind of boys her age worked. And this time of all wasn't very good; she didn't plan to stay here that long.

Professor Flitwick looked exactly like he did in the future, and he was just as confused. Ginny felt better now that she recognised something. Only seeing new faces had made her head a bit disoriented. She remembered how she had felt the day she started school when she was eleven, and that day she at least had had her brothers there to look after and take care of her. Now she had nobody. Her heart dropped when thinking about her brothers.

The last year had been hard for the Weasley family. They had lost one of their brothers and sons – Percy had been killed in a fight against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Ginny's mother had cried for days, and her father had had to be strong for both of them. All the Weasley siblings had taken the death of their brother hard, but no one as hard as Ginny. Most people didn't know, but the brother Ginny had always been closest to was Percy, and ever since Ginny was little, he had been the one she came to when she was sad or wanted to talk. Ever since Percy's death Ginny had carried an old handkerchief of Percy's with the initials P.I.W. in her pocket. So she would never forget him.

Professor Flitwick had them practice Freezing Charms the entire lesson. Ginny had always been very good at Charms and had never really had any real troubles with the subject, so she had mastered the simple charms without any effort and a lot of time to spare. So the rest of the lesson she mostly spent trying to find out exactly how far in the book they had gotten and reading through the things she had missed. It wasn't a very trying first class, she thought when Professor Flitwick let them go an hour and a half later.

She had one more class before lunch, Transfiguration, which wasn't all that trying either. The things they practised she had already done before, so she spent this time, too, reading up on the things she had missed. Professor McGonagall kept throwing her odd looks during class, but Ginny tried to ignore them as best possible.

The weather outside was beautiful this day, too, and figuring she might take a bit of fresh air before her last class, Ginny hurried with her lunch and left before any one else had even noticed her presence. The wind blew softly against her face when she opened the door in the Entrance Hall, and Ginny felt at home for the first time since she had left _her _time.

But the feeling didn't last long. When she was walking down by the lake she could hear a familiar voice talking loudly and excitedly from behind her. Sirius said something and a few others laughed at what probably was a joke. Ginny took a fast right turn and hid behind a tree, taking a seat on the ground and making sure they didn't see her. She didn't actually know why she hid from Sirius, Professor Lupin, James and Peter, but it seemed like a good decision at the time. It was as though they would be able to see right through her and know who she was and where she came from.

_God, I'm just being paranoid. Of course they wouldn't know. _

But Ginny didn't move. She stayed exactly where she was until she couldn't hear their voices anymore. And then she stayed a little longer, just in case.

Later that evening she was sitting in the common room, doing her homework. They had been told in Potions to write an essay about why you had to use spring water when making an age potion, and explaining the consequences if using any other type of water. It wasn't a difficult task Professor Slughorn had given them and Ginny finished it without problem.

Slughorn was just as he had been in her fifth year, he still favoured some students over others, and Ginny was not one of them. But that didn't really matter to Ginny; just as long as she could brew her potion in peace she was happy.

When she had finished the essay she gazed around the common room. It was filled with students, some doing their homework and some sitting in small groups talking with each other. It was nice to be left alone, Ginny thought when seeing Miranda, Sophie and Natalie sitting with some of the boys by the fireplace. Potions had been wonderful because no one had asked her a single question about other things than potion-making. Ginny had always loved Potions, even though her professor had been Snape, and she had always been excellent at it. She was the best in her family at Potions, even better than Percy who had otherwise excelled in all subjects.

A noise was heard from the portrait hole and Ginny's eyes unintentionally looked its way.

"Nice going there, Moony," said Sirius and laughed. Lupin was lying on his knees; he had apparently tripped over the threshold and fallen. With the help of the wall he pulled himself up to a standing position.

"Shut up," he muttered and punched Sirius on the arm. Sirius just sniggered.

"Where's James?" came a voice from behind Sirius and Lupin, Peter Pettigrew. "Wasn't he supposed to meet us here?"

"Dunno, probably off snogging Lily in a broom closet somewhere," said Sirius and shrugged his shoulders.

Sirius moved elegantly over to one of the couches by the fireplace and sat down. Ginny saw the girls around him stare longingly in his direction, straightening their clothes and trying to look as pretty as possible in the hope that he would look at them. But Sirius didn't seem to notice them, if so he didn't bother about it. Peter followed him and settled down beside him; opening a book he had been carrying and started reading casually. Lupin didn't move, but instead looked at Sirius and Peter and frowned disapprovingly.

"You two know that we have homework till tomorrow, right? Aren't you going to do it? Peter!"

"Wha?" Peter's head snapped up and he stared at Lupin. "Oh, er, later."

"Yeah, later," Sirius agreed and smirked. Lupin grunted and threw his arms in the air, apparently not happy with the answers.

"You really should pay more attention to the schoolwork, or else you'll just fail on your N.E.W.T.s later." And with that he turned on his heel and started to make his way over to the table where Ginny was sitting.

As he came closer Ginny finally remembered she was staring at him, and her head hastily bent down towards her papers and books again. She could feel her face turning red and she swore under her breath. He was now standing in front of her on the other side of the table, holding onto the chair.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked and made Ginny have to raise her head to answer him.

"No," she said and stretched her arms forward to pull her scattered papers from the part of the table Lupin was planning to use.

He sat down and hauled a bunch of books out from his bag which he spread over the table among with parchment and quill. He looked at the books considering which homework he would start with, and finally he picked what looked like a History of Magic book. He opened it and browsed through it until he settled on a page in the middle of it. He took a bit of parchment and started writing in very small letters.

After a few minutes Ginny once again found herself staring around the common room at nothing in particular, and when she turned a little she was shocked when she saw that Lupin was studying her. And he didn't turn away when she met his gaze, just continued to look at her. She frowned in discomfort but didn't say anything. It was Lupin who broke the silence.

"You're that new sixth year," he stated. Ginny nodded in response. "I'm Remus Lupin." He extended a hand and Ginny shook it.

"Ginny Waters." It was a strange feeling to shake hands and introduce yourself to someone you already knew, well, somewhat knew anyway.

"Where do you come from, then?" Lupin continued. Ginny sighed; she _knew _that question would find its way in somehow. "I'm sorry, was that a bad question?"

"No, no, it's just that it feels as though I've already gotten it five million times. It's starting to wear me out," said Ginny and laughed bitterly.

"Oh, I understand. Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Lupin smiled at her.

"It's OK."

"Not bad, Moony, not bad at all," said Sirius as he showed up from behind Lupin. Lupin turned his head and shot Sirius a deadly look. "Oh, I'm sorry, mate," Sirius continued without the slightest hint of regret in his voice, "did I just ruin your chances there?"

Lupin's face turned red and he avoided meeting Ginny's gaze. He cleared his throat and then said, "What did you want, Sirius?"

Sirius sat down in the chair beside Lupin and began complaining about something. Ginny stopped listening and when Lupin and Sirius had gotten deeper in their conversation she quietly gathered her things and got up from her seat. It wasn't very late yet, but Ginny figured she could just the same go to bed; she had nothing better to do anyway.


End file.
